Couple called Uber to deliver Narcan instead of calling 911 while their 2-year-old died from an overdose, cops say

An Illinois couple called for an Uber to deliver Narcan for their 2-year-old daughter as she suffered a deadly drug overdose – and waited nearly four hours before calling 911, police said.

Edward Weiher, 49, and his fiancé, Alexa Balen, 28, were charged with first-degree murder Monday in the death of their daughter, Trinity, in their Homer Glenn, Illinois, home on November 6, 2024, WGN-TV reported.

The couple, who were first charged with neglect after Trinity’s death, failed to correctly administer a dose of Narcan to the toddler, authorities said.

Instead of calling 911, they ordered a second Narcan through Uber to be delivered to their home, according to court documents. During their investigation, detectives discovered Balen called 911 three hours and 41 minutes into Trinity’s suspected overdose, while also looking up “how to stop an OD” and “how to stop an OD without naloxone” on her phone.

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When police finally arrived, they found Weiher performing chest compressions on Trinity, and observed the floor was covered with garbage, food, urine and feces, according to court docs. Authorities also noticed a white substance, suspected to be cocaine and heroin, on the countertops and tables, as well as several pieces of burnt tin foil, believed to be from doing heroin.

Suspected heroin was also discovered on a mattress in the living room where the entire family, including the couple’s six-year-old daughter, slept each night, police said.

Weiher told police they were suffering a gas leak and that his meter registered a reading of natural carbon monoxide at 6,000 parts per million – enough to make a person unconscious within 20 minutes, according to authorities.

Both parents told cops they thought Trinity stopped breathing due to suspected high levels of carbon monoxide, but Balen admitted to police that she and Weiher regularly use heroin, police said.

Balen also admitted to attempting to use Narcan on their daughter and said that when they failed to correctly administer the dose, they ordered more Narcan to be delivered on Uber. She said they went through Uber because Weiher said they should not call 911. The couple ended up calling 911 after the second Narcan didn’t work and Trinity stopped breathing, police noted.

Trinity was taken to the hospital, and later died.

A pathologist concluded that Trinity “would have survived” if 911 had been called immediately after she became symptomatic of an overdose.

Balen’s six-year-old daughter was taken into the state’s custody after she tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine, police said.

Weiher and Balen were taken into custody and initially charged with child endangerment resulting in death, child endangerment, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Both parents were charged with murder on May 22. Their next court date is scheduled for June 27.